Assistance to Families at Risk of Overpayment - additional resourcing

What's New?

The Government will extend funding for the Assistance to Families at Risk of Overpayment measure announced in the 2005-06 Budget for an additional year.

This extended funding will allow the Family Assistance Office (FAO) to continue to call families who are at high risk of Family Tax Benefit (FTB) overpayment. FAO staff will provide information and assistance with estimating families income, understanding the FTB system and improving their awareness of More Choice for Families options to help them to avoid an FTB overpayment.

Initial results and customer feedback on the implementation of the measure in 2005 06 indicate that the measure has assisted in reducing FTB debt.

Background

Around 2.2 million families and 4.2 million children benefit from FTB every year.

Accurate income estimation is important, as families who choose to receive their FTB through fortnightly payments have their provisional annual entitlement worked out on the basis of their estimated income.

After the end of the income year the estimated income is compared with the family's actual income. Families who have overestimated their income during the year and have been underpaid receive a 'top-up' payment at the end of the year. Families who have underestimated their income and have been overpaid are required to pay back the amount they were overpaid during the year. This measure reduces the number of these families who have to pay back overpaid amounts.